In this article, Lindsey Fowler describes how an animal rhyme--that she shared with her fifth-grade students with the intention of assisting them with the concept of metric conversions--made fostering the Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) more difficult. The addition of animals, which added an extraneous element that students mistakenly…

Australia has used SI metric units for measurement for decades now, although the conversion of measurements from the earlier Imperial units--known as metrication--commenced subsequently in 1971, and was not completed until 1988. All Primary and Secondary schools were using only metric units in school lessons by 1973, and it became illegal to teach…

This paper reports results of a design experiment regarding young children's concepts of mass measurement. The research built on an earlier study in which a framework of "growth points" in early mathematics learning and a related, task-based, one-to-one interview to assess children's understanding of the measurement of mass…

March 14 is special because it is Pi Day. Mathematics is celebrated on that day because the date, 3-14, replicates the first three digits of pi. Pi-related songs, websites, trivia facts, and more are at the fingertips of interested teachers and students. Less celebrated, but still fairly well known, is National Metric Day, which falls on October…

The first report of the Metrication Board, published summer 1970, leads Mr. Frost to reflect on the history of weights and measurements and the factors leading to Britain's present course toward decimalisation and metrication, with its implications for adult education. (Editor/NL)

It is very well known that the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality is an important property shared by all inner product spaces and the inner product induces a norm on the space. A proof of the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality for real inner product spaces exists, which does not employ the homogeneous property of the inner product. However, it is shown that a real…

Constructing model hot air balloons is an activity that captures the imaginations of students, enabling teachers to present required content to minds that are open to receive it. Additionally, there are few activities that lend themselves to integrating so much content across subject areas. In this article, the authors describe how they have…

Describes several studies that challenge conventional wisdom regarding the teaching and learning of nonstandard and standard unit, rulers, and measurement sense. Discusses the educational implications of their results. (Author/CCM)

Eight recommendations on how to teach the metric system to both elementary and secondary students are presented in this article: let the students measure; use the word "about"; have students "guesstimate"; make comparisons; don't teach conversions; stress place value concepts; teach measurement as a three-step process; and "relax". (JC)

We describe a principled way of imposing a metric representing dissimilarities on any discrete set of stimuli (symbols, handwritings, consumer products, X-ray films, etc.), given the probabilities with which they are discriminated from each other by a perceiving system, such as an organism, person, group of experts, neuronal structure, technical…

Three examples are presented which involve constructions employing a compass, a centimeter ruler, and a calculator. Employing mathematical tools to support understanding and discovery of mathematical principles is viewed as being clearly a desire of mathematics educators, but it is felt such tools are not frequently used to their fullest. (MP)

Classroom games designed to develop mathematics skills in elementary school children are presented. These games involve personalizing metric measurement, telling time by television, creating an all-math newsletter, addition puzzles, subtraction games, division cards, multiplication, fractions, and measurement. (JD)

A general discussion of cognitive development as it relates to measurement is presented. Suggested measurement activities are given. (MK)

This activity book stresses the integration of measurement with all phases of mathematics and other school curricula. It emphasizes: activities that teach basic measurement skills; techniques for understanding small and large numbers; learning devices that improve measurement understanding; strengthening measurement vocabulary through…

Presents activities designed to build concepts in measurement. The activities offer actual experience with measurement tools such as rulers, scales, and clocks. (PK)